Betraying A Lover
by The Fellow Marauder
Summary: A new body appears in the NYPD's jurisdiction and Dee is kept off the job. Why? Because he knew the victim. Berkeley is convinced that Dee killed the deceased and tries to get Ryou to turn him in. R&R!


OverSight: This fic's central creation is based on an older episode of _Crossing Jordan_.  
Standard Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE; FAKE owns me.

The placid and mutually unwanted noise of the phone sounded as it echoed it's annoying ring through the apartment of one of the criminal investigation detectives of the NYPD. Ryou MacLean's eyelids fluttered in a seemingly futile attempt to wake himself up. Moving, his body motion was then transferred onto the man laying beside him, dark hair flowing across the fluffy pillow held tightly to his chest. Ryou smiled briefly as his eyes fell on his partner and lover, before he got up and walked over to the phone. "Hello?" He listened to what was being said, before his eyes opened wide in horror. "Yes, I understand." He responded. "Yes, chief. I'll be there in a moment." Not even offering a goodbye, he placed the phone back down, cutting off any connection to his boss. His eyes darted over to the still-sleeping man in his bed. This time, no trace of a smile was evident on either his eyes or his mouth. His action was only to sigh heavily and tip-toe past the bed to shower. He wanted to let Dee sleep.

_Half an hour later..._

Ryou pulled into the crime scene, parking his car on the side of the road before turning off the ignition, getting out and walking over to where the chief and Berkeley were. The crisp pre-dawn air bit at his cheeks as he made his way to the secured area on that brisk April morning. Miles away from any urban-area obsenities, Ryou walked up to stand beside Commisioner Berkeley Rose. "Detective MacLean." The Dee look-a-like stated, a cocky smile on his lips as he noticed (all too smugly) the absence of Ryou's partner. "I take it Dee-dums slept in, did he?" Although the statement sounded highly teasing, Ryou flinched in annoyance as he cued in on Berkeley's true objective: berating. Not daring to show any sign of disrespect, Ryou swallowed the irritance in his attitude and simply said,

"No, Dee's still sleeping. Or, at least he _was_ when I left my apartment." Although not meaning to, this statement arose a reaction out of the commish that was none-too-easy to mask.

"He was at... your apartment." Ryou flushed, not having realized what admitting those words had meant. He thanked the morning for being so dark, so his true feelings would not have been discovered.

"Yes." He replied. "He was. And still is." Deciding to let the information of the two detecive's escalating relationship slip away, Berkeley continued his disgust towards Dee Laytner.

"Tell me. Was Dee-dums too tired to wake up, or was he just to lazy to get his ass out of bed to come to work? Although I would not be surprised by the last one; he acts like that normally." Ryou physically flinched at these accusations and was just about to smack Rose for insulting his lover, when they were both interrupted by the man the other detectives affectionately nicknamed "badger".

"You two! MacLean! Berkeley! Stop fooling around and flirting and get your asses over here! We have a case to solve and nothing is solving itself by you two chatting each other up!" Both detectives flushed, but Ryou regained his composure enough to stalk by the commisioner and walk up to his boss.

"What do we have?" He asked, giving an obvious icy shoulder to Berkeley. The higher-ranking officer watched Ryou's retreating back as he and the chief strolled to the crime scene. A small smile playing on his lips, he muttered to himself,

"That's why I love you, MacLean. Quick on your feet and stubborn." Still wearing a satisfied smirk of determination, Berkeley followed the two men to where the body lay in it's final resting place.

"His name was Theo Carr. Twenty-three years old. We found his body right here." The deceased body of said victim was laying face-flat in the dirt, a bullet wound evident in the back of his skull. His jeans had been pulled down to his ankles and his shoes had been removed. Ryou squatted down beside the body and leaned in to get a closer look.

"His shoes were removed," he made a mental note by muttering.

"Are you onto anything, MacLean?" The chief asked, interested. Ryou had a keen sense and was able to pick up any discernable detail to link together things other people did not notice; including specially trained and professional M.E.'s.

"I dunno..." Ryou stated, his eyebrows narrowed in concentration. He paused several moments as he studied the body, then he abruptly stood up and turned to face the two men behind him. "It's just... I remember reading these articles on homosexual hate crime murders. Especially the Matthew Shepard case."

"And?" The chief proded as Ryou's statements and thoughts wandered into (yet again) thoughtful silence.

"And," the half-Japanese police officer continued. "These hate crimes happened to have a little detail in common. All the victims had their shoes removed." (1)

Both the chief and the commisioner were confused. "Wait..." Berkeley put in his two cents, justly trying to understand the labyrinth that was Ryou's mind. "Are you saying those murders were those of a serial killer?"

"No." Ryou stated. "But this was an act of humiliation... at least, if I can remember correctly. The murderers wanted to humiliate the victims." (2)

"Is this man gay?" Berkeley inquired.

"No, I don't think so... but I can not tell for sure." Ryou responded.

"Then what's the point of mentioning it?" Like his considered arch-nemesis, Berkeley Rose was incapable of patience beyond the capacity of five minutes. Unless it involved lusting after a certain part-Japanese fellow detecitve...

"The victim is laying flat down on the ground, a bullet wound in the back of his head. Almost as if by execution. His pants were removed post mordem and his shoes thrown aside. It seems to me that the killer definitely wanted this man to feel humiliation. I'd say this was not just a passing-thing. This murder was pre-empted and caused by someone with a lot of anger and hatred towards this man. I'd start looking there."

The chief smiled in satisfaction. He lifted his meaty hand and set it down on Ryou's right shoulder. "Good work, detective." Calling over a subordinate, the chief told him, "Have the CSI finish up their photographs and search of the area. Then have the body sent to Jim Campbell so he can examine it and give us the results of the autopsy."

"Wait..." The lower detective voiced, confused. "Isn't Jim Campbell the M.E. for the _Bronx _office?"

"So?" The chief retaliated. "He's the best damn man for the job." The detective/subordinate agreed and then rushed off to inform the rest of the staff at the crime scene of the cheif's decision. As for the old badger, he turned and face the commisioner and Ryou once again. "This is it, then, right MacLean? I will have you handle the case personally if you wish. I'll see to it that you're promoted to front this case under your orders." Ryou was taken aback and extremely flattered.

"Why, thank you, sir." He stated, at a loss for what else to say.

"You're welcome." The chief replied. "I am very pleased with your work; it's about time you got a little more appreciation out of this job. Report to me at ten-hundred hours and I will give you the specifics from all we have gathered."

"Thank you..." Ryou was still in awe. Right before the three of them went their seperate ways, Berkeley asked,

"I hate to bring this up again, but it does strike me as rather odd,"

"What is it, Rose?" The chief asked, annoyed only because he wanted to get back to bed before showing his face to the tired two-seven.

"_Why_, exactly, is Laytner not here?"

More annoyance seeped into the chief's voice. "Whatever personal beef you have with that detective, I do not care. But I do not want to hear about it right now, Rose." With that, he turned his back and started walking away.

"I don't." Berkeley cut in but immediately paused. "I mean, I do not particularly enjoy the man's company, but it seems a little superfluous. If Dee was at Ryou's apartment and Ryou was called in on this case, why not simply drag Laytner along? I understand he would object, but Ryou would make him come. So why is he still absent from the scene?"

There was a long and silent pause from both Ryou and the chief. Berkeley could tell just from their quiet demeanors that they knew something he did not. He waited patiently; well, as patiently as his quick-tempered attitude would allow. Then the chief spoke. "I... I told Ryou not to bring Dee along when I called him. This is a case that man has to sit out." Without a further clue as to why or even a subtle detail, the older man skulked off into the night, leaving to find warmth in his own bed for a few more solitary hours. The cocky, taller man turned his attention to Ryou.

"Why?" He inquired. "What's so different about this case?"

"Dee..." Ryou began cautiously. He stopped himself from indulging his co-worker's curiousity any further, but gave in and spilt. "He knew the victim."

"How?" Berkeley asked, not resisting the urge to know more. "On an intimate level?" Once again, Ryou found himself twitch.

"No," he responded coolly. "They just did not get along."

"You mean they hated each other." Ryou curtly nodded his head.

"If you'll excuse me, commissioner, I have to get back to my apartment." Very polite and with exquisite gentleman-like manners, the light-haired detective made his way past the commisioner and towards his car. Berkeley (once again) watched him go and there arose a smirk on his face; one that reeked of maliciousness. He had found a new way to make Ryou his. And, this time, he would make sure that he would not fail.

_Owari._

_Author's Notes (briefly)_: If anyone reading this has seen either _Crossing Jordan_ or _Law and Order: CI_, you can vividly see the influence of those two shows in this fanfic. For this, I apolgize. I am so addicted to those shows, it's kinda insane. :smile:  
_- Reference Points -  
_(1) In the case of Matthew Shepard, this was true. And there were several other crimes that had this same menial M.O. that I saw in a awareness of Hate Crimes in my school. For specific details, I am not sure. Being gay myself, it is a rather touchy and sensitive subject.  
(2) I am not sure, but this is what I remember being said. I could research it, but I am far too lazy to. Sorry. :soft smile:


End file.
